INDUSTRY NEWS

Sprint settles suit over background check authorization forms

The telecommunications company reached a settlement over accusations it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by requiring applicants to sign a background check authorization form that included “a vast and limitless release of information.”

The settlement comes before the plaintiff in the case could have potentially expanded the case into a proposed nationwide class action that would have included all Sprint retail job applicants who signed the company’s background check authorization form.

Since at least 2013, Sprint allegedly used an authorization form that contained clauses that required applicants to give the company access to private government, healthcare and school data.

The FCRA requires that disclosure and authorization forms to be “in a document that consists solely of the disclosure that a consumer a report may be obtained for employment purposes.” This disclosure must be on a completely standalone document, without any extraneous information such as the release of information clauses allegedly included by Sprint.